9 noteworthy in-house career moves

If you need to fix something, chances are, Sears has it. But what about for a legal fix? Sears believes it has that too, with Kristin Coleman named the new senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary of parent company Sears Holdings. Coleman comes to Sears from the Brunswick Corporation, where she served as GC among other roles. Previously, Coleman was an associate GC with Mead Johnson Nutrition Company, and she also worked as outside counsel with Sidley Austin. “I am pleased Kristin is joining our leadership team. She is a proven leader with experience managing legal, compliance and corporate governance issues,” said Edward S. Lampert, chairman and CEO of Sears Holdings, in a statement.

It’s getting real for Vivian Yang. Having just joined the team at 3D and visual technologies created RealD in early 2014, the attorney has already been promoted to become the company’s executive vice president and general counsel. Before RealD, Yang served as senior vice president and GC for CityGrid Media, and also worked in-house for Time Warner’s Global Media Group, eCompanies Wireless, and Sony Pictures. “Vivian has vast experience in the media and technology sectors working with both established and growth companies,” said RealD CEO Michael V. Lewis in a statement. “Her legal acumen combined with her proven management capabilities will make her an extraordinarily valuable member of the RealD executive team.”

Moving from one healthcare provider to another, MemorialCare Health System has picked up an industry veteran as general counsel in Terri Cammarano. Before joining MemorialCare, Cammarano worked with Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian in a variety of roles. With Hoag, she most recently served as senior vice president and special advisor following Hoag’s affiliation with St. Joseph Health, and before that, she served as Hoag’s GC. She also worked for many years in private practice with Foley & Lardner. “We are very pleased to welcome Terri Cammarano to our MemorialCare team,” said Barry Arbuckle, president and CEO, in a statement. “With her impressive background in health care transactions ranging from traditional mergers and acquisitions to affiliations and joint ventures, Terri has counseled health care clients on a wide range of regulatory, operational, governance, technology, finance, contracting and other complex legal matters.”

It’s a whole new frontier for the legal department at Frontier Airlines, as the company has picked up a new general counsel from outside the company. Howard Diamond comes to Frontier from Thales USA, where he served as vice president, general counsel and secretary since 2008. Diamond has also worked as chief counsel of BAE Systems as well as GC of Stewart and Stevenson's Tactical Vehicles Division. “I am excited to join Frontier Airlines as it begins its third decade of service,” Diamond said in a release. “I look forward to working with Dave, my colleagues, and Indigo Partners to solidify Frontier's position as a successful ultra-low cost carrier.”

Is LinkedIn the next big online dynasty? It did recently have the most successful social media IPO in history. And now, the company has hired a big name, bringing in former Yahoo legal department head Michael J. Callahan as LinkedIn’s newest general counsel. Callahan headed Yahoo’s legal department between 2003 and 2012. In the time since, he has served as chief legal officer of online marketplace Auction.com. He will fill the vacancy left by Erika Rottenberg, the company’s first full-time in-house hire, who announced she was leaving the company in April. “I've long admired LinkedIn for its ability to enable economic opportunity for people around the world, and I have tremendous respect for the entire executive team at the company,” Callahan said in a statement. “I'm honored to have the opportunity to lead a strong and deep team at LinkedIn and continue to scale the function.”

And now coming behind the scenes of a screen near you... Deborah Zipser! Zipser will be taking over the role of general counsel of IM Global, a leading film financing, sales and distribution companies in the world, owned primarily by Indian conglomerate Reliance ADA Group. Zipser was previously an executive with River Road, where she was head of business affairs with the company. While at River Road, Zipser worked with a number of hit movies, including The Tree Of Life, Into the Wild, Brokeback Mountain and Food Inc.

After 33 years in the legal department — and 19 years as its head — Kenneth M. Vittor is stepping down as general counsel of McGraw Hill Financial. Stepping into those shoes would be a tough task for any in-house lawyer, but McGraw Hill believes that Lucy Fato is more than capable of the task. Fato comes to McGraw Hill from Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc., where she served as vice president, deputy general counsel and corporate secretary since 2005. Before that, she worked as outside counsel for Davis Polk & Wardwell. “Lucy is a highly accomplished attorney and leader,” said McGraw Hill CEO Douglas L. Peterson in a statement. “Her broad experience, business acumen and strong record of building legal teams strengthen our deep and talented management team.”

The Super Bowl Champion Seattle Seahawks rely on the 12th Man for help on the field, but for help in the legal department, the team will now turn to new general counsel Ed Goines. Perhaps Seahawks fans don’t want to hear about his past experience in the NFL, however — he spent five years as general counsel and vice president of business affairs with the hated San Francisco 49ers between 2001 and 2007. Most recently, Goines was assistant chief counsel for Disney Interactive/The Walt Disney Company, and he also worked in-house previously with Major League Soccer.

In order to be the general counsel of Investment Company Institute (ICI), the national association of U.S. investment companies, one must be intimately familiar with not only markets, but also how regulators handle those markets. Well, in that case, why not just hire someone from the SEC itself? David Blass, ICI’s newest general counsel, comes from the job after serving as chief counsel and associate director of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Trading and Markets since 2010. According to ThinkAdvisor, Blass also worked with the SEC between 2003 and 2008, and he has also spent time as outside counsel. “David brings to ICI a wealth of professional experience, gained in senior government service and in private practice both here and abroad,” said ICI President and CEO Paul Schott Stevens in a statement. “I am certain he will provide outstanding leadership as head of the Institute’s Law Department and as a member of our senior management team.”